It's been a while since I have posted, so as I sit by myself in a hotel room in Las Vegas (damn you Blackjack gods for making it a short night!), I thought I would fill you in on what was a weekend of fun and relaxation that Loving Wife and I will never forget.
Waaaaay back in the late spring/early summer, one of my favorite authors, Kevin Hearne, announced that he would be having a release party in Mesa, AZ for his newest book (mandatory and well deserved plug: here is the link to the Iron Druid Chronicles starting with HOUNDED--go get it. No, right now. I will wait.)
Well, seeing as a) I really like Kevin Hearne and b) Loving Wife and I hadn't been on a 'getaway' weekend for many moons, I woke up at 545am on a Saturday morning* and purchased two tickets to the release party. This was done with a bit of hope and wishful thinking, for as I had read and enjoyed all the books, Loving Wife had not and there was no guarantee she would like them.
Turns out, she did and, even better, she was super excited to go. The Kiddo was just as excited because he got a weekend with grampa and grandma in Lake Havasu where he pigged out, played computer and generally vegitated his brain into 12 year old paste. Which, come to think of it, is pretty much the same thing he does every weekend, except now he got to do it in Arizona.
So, away we went last Friday morning, making great time to Havasu and not so bad time to the Tempe/Mesa/Phoenix area**. On Friday night, we ate at Rula Bula, a fine Irish Pub in Tempe that plays a big part of the first few books of Kevin Hearne's series. It was OMFG-I-didn't-know-I-was-going-to-have-mouth-orgasms good! I had the famous Fish n Chips and Patti the Steak and Guinness pie. We followed that up with a walk around Mill Street and many a small shop and restaurant, soaking up atmosphere wth no plan or destination.
The next day was the day of the event and we planned it out very carefully. We visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, which was much more cool and interesting than I expected and followed that with a visit to the Poisoned Pen bookstore, an independent book store in Tempe, where I added to my growing list of 'to read' books and snapped up signed copies of Kevin's earlier books in order to have hard copies. We even got the first book (you went out and ordered HUNTED from the link above, right?) signed for Ian, though he may have to wait a few years as he is, as Kevin would say, just a wee lad.
That took us to about 1pm, so we snagged lunch at T. Roosevelt's GastroPub (really good burger and French Dip) and headed back to prepare for the signing party by taking a nap. This is where it went wonky. You see, we both thought it started at 7pm. Turns out, it ENDED at 7pm. So after a refreshing nap, our two little happy go lucky hearts cracked a little when we realized we were late. We didn't get in the drawings, we didn't get to schmooze with other Kevin Hearne lovers or get hopped up on beer and nerd juice.
Then a wee, red-headed lass came and sat by us. Turns out, it was Kevin's mom, who took pity on us for arriving late and sat down and regaled us with stories of her own love for literature (historical fiction...we are definitely researching the MGM lion story!) and shared a tidbit with us that neither of us will forget: love each other every day and have fun and joy doing it, because you never know when it might end.
Kevin, your mother is a wise, wise woman.
And that is when what started as a bit of heartache turned into a magical night of story swapping and fun with Kevin and his personal friends. Patti and I felt blessed and lucky to get to spend extra hours with such a giving man. We haven't enjoyed nerd-dom this much for ages. I even got a hand-drawn picture of Oberon (seriously! go buy the books so you know who Oberon is! Sheesh!).
The weekend was everything we hoped for and more. All the way home, we smiled and remembered the fun (hells no, I am not going to tell you everything! There was copious amounts of tequila involved!). But both Loving Wife and I, independently and together, remembered the words of Kevin's mom. We came seeking a little fun and an opportunity to meet and mingle with a published author. After all, Aspiring Author is all about trying to get published himself and this was an opportunity to hear some stories from someone who has been through the trenches.
We got all that, but we also got a life lesson. One that we are very much taking to heart and one that I pass on to all of you: love who you are with and enjoy what you do together.
Thanks, Kevin, Momma Hearne and, especially, Loving Wife for one of the best weekends of my life. Not because of what we did, but because of how well we both learned the lesson of WHY we did it.
Cheers!
AA
*Seriously, Kevin, 6am on a Saturday for tickets? Some of us don't have brains that start until 930.
**Note to self: before embarking on a long trip, make sure the navigator does not have 'Avoid Freeways' checked.
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